National Investor Survey Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates September 12, 2000

2 Methodology Penn, Schoen & Berland interviewed 600 investors nationally by telephone, a cross-section of all American investors Currently invest in stocks, bonds, mutual funds or in a retirement plan such as an IRA or 401(k) Make or help make the major investment decisions in their households Large, small, and medium-sized investors represented – 27% have portfolios less than $50,000 Aged 25 and over 59% say they actively manage their investment portfolio 51% are female, 49% are male All interviews were conducted from Penn, Schoen & Berland’s central field facility in Denver, CO from August 30 to September 6, 2000 Margin of error is ±4% at the 95% confidence interval The survey was commissioned by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

Investors Confident In Audit

4 Nine in ten investors say annual audit of financial statements is credible How would you rate the credibility of the annual audit of financial statements of the corporations you invest in? Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

Investors Trust The Audit Committee And The Board

6 By a margin of three to one, investors say the Audit Committee and Board should decide what services the audit firm should provide The Audit Committee and the rest of the company Board of Directors are best positioned to determine whether or not the provision of any particular service by the audit firm is inappropriate Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

7 By a three to one margin, investors say the Audit Committee and the Board generally act in the interest of shareholders The Audit Committee and the rest of the company Board of Directors generally act in the best interests of shareholders Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

8 By a seven to one margin, investors say the Audit Committee and the Board should decide which auditor to hire The Audit Committee and the rest of the company Board of Directors should continue to be responsible for overseeing company financial decisions and practices, including which auditor to hire Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

Investors Reject Government Intervention

10 By a three to one margin, investors say regulators should not play a bigger role than they do now regulating what services accounting firms provide Should regulators play a bigger role, smaller role, or about the same role as they do now prohibiting accounting firms from offering a range of services, for example information technology consulting, to any clients they audit? Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

Quality of Audit May Suffer From Prohibitions on Consulting

12 By a four to one margin, investors agree that the more auditors know about the company, the better the audit The more auditors know about the company, the better the audit Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

13 Prohibiting consulting by audit firms will hurt the quality of audits If this prohibition is implemented, audit firms will know less about the companies they audit and the quality of the audit may suffer Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

Investors Prefer Disclosure To Prohibitions

15 Nine in ten investors want to know if a company’s auditor also provides other services It would be important for shareholders to know if a company’s auditor also provides consulting services to that company Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

Investors Need New Types Of Investment Information

17 Investors need new types of investment information Percent Saying Necessary Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

Investor Demographics

19 Portfolio value For statistical purposes only, we need to know the value of your total investment portfolio. Will you please tell me which of the following best represents your total investment portfolio, including any 401(k) or IRA accounts, but excluding any company pension for which you do not make investment decisions? Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

20Age Please tell me in which category you fall Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates

21Gender Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates